Thanks to the suggestion of Val Marchiori of Mulheres Ricas, to advance my Brazilian transformation I went to Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo.
The history of this museum is almost as interesting as the art it holds.
The modern structure was founded in 1947 by Assis Chateaubriand. He was also the owner of the local newspaper Associated Daily Press (actually Diários Associados). Being the most influential media outlet at the time, Assis wielded some major power. So how did he fill his museum? By blackmailing the local wealthy. Apparently, he would threaten anyone without a squeaky clean record with a front paper story, unless they bought and donated a fabulous piece of art for his museum. Kind of like Robin Hood, shake down the rich to provide some fabulous works to his peeps.
While on the outside, it is a bit of an eyesore in my opinion, it was an architectural marvel in its time and does make for a great exhibition space. Though the collection is small, it holds some striking pieces. Today there was an exhibition on my second favorite crew after the Egyptians, the Romans, entitled “A Vida e os Imperadores” or “The Life of the Emperors.”
And the lunch buffet in the restaurant looked pretty good.
you could go to a brunch at “mosteiro sao bento”
http://culturageralsaibamais.wordpress.com/brunch-do-mosteiro/
Great suggestion! Looks fabulous. And going to church is on my list.